In ballot questions coming to voters soon, Park County is asking to extend the 1% sales tax currently in place and expand the purpose for which it can be spent. That keeps the total sales tax paid in Park County (not including other town taxes) at 3.9% with the State sales tax of 2.9%. In a separate ballot question, Park County is asking for another 2% sales tax in addition to existing taxes, bringing the total sales tax collected to 5.9%.

Total sales taxes proposed to be collected by Park County will be 3%, if both questions pass, which is higher than the Colorado State sales tax of 2.9%.

This tax would not be restricted to just dollars spent while physically purchasing in the county. For the many people in the county who order goods and supplies online, this sales tax will, in many cases, be collected by online vendors (i.e. Amazon, Walmart, etc.) as well.

While the Ballot Question states that the 2% additional tax would be restricted to spending on emergency services, it is understood, by now, that money is fungible. Whatever extra tax is collected and spent on those services frees up other money to be spent wherever the county chooses to spend it. The ballot question does not guarantee that existing funds used for these purposes will not be reduced, so current funds allocated to them can be moved to other departments.